[vc_row row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" text_align="left" background_animation="none" css_animation=""][vc_column][vc_column_text]It is that time of year again, and the baby crows keep coming! In most cases, crows should be left to fend for themselves, particularily if they are fledgelings.Â Before you attempt to rescue a baby bird, consider the following:
Is it badly injured or in danger?
Are there other crows nearby?
Is it a fledgeling or a nestling?
Fledgeling or...

According to popular media, so-called scientists in the U.K. plan to execute a cull of thousands of corvids in a bid to save songbird populations.Â Many of us in the community, which include scientists, rehabilitators and amateurs alike, are wondering when these scientists forgot that crows, magpies and jackdaws are songbirds too. The 'dramatic decline in farm and woodland birds in the last 50 years' has...

[caption id="attachment_1005" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="By T.L.Kemp"][/caption]
It isÂ the time when the crows begin to form small roosting groups in the evening. Observers may note flights of crows all heading in one direction in late afternoon/evening or gathering in a group in the treetops. These gatherings are generally much smaller that the large winter communal roosts and we presume they serve as a sort of training ground...

Crows roost in large, sometimes huge murders (a flock is called a murder) at night. A hundred years ago one could find these roosts just outside villages and towns, and it was thought they did this for safety from dogs, cats and owls that like to nest in human built structures. Now, however, these roosts are most often located inside the city limits and itâ€™s thought...

Mobbing behavior by crows and others in the avian family is very common. The crows are reacting to the potential threat another lifeform or (until they quickly figure it out) an object poses as a predator to the adult crows and their offspring. The mobbing often serves to harass the threat into leaving the area. Occasionally, though, a mobbed hawk or owl will turn the tables...

Not a Corvid!
Last month we brought you a delightful and silly un-corvid, the Willy Wagtail. This month is a much more sinister subject - the Giant Cowbird (Molothrus oryzivorus).
[caption id="attachment_732" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="By Peter VanZoest"] [/caption]
The Cowbird one of the few entirely black birds found in Central and South America. It is a quiet bird, particularly for an icterid, but the male has an unpleasant...

The Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) is a crow (or Karasuçƒ in Japanese) specific to Southeast Asia, and most prevalent in Japan. They are slightly larger than the Carrion Crow, and are affectionately called Corvus Growus Biggust by some locals. The Corvus japonensis, or large billed crow, is just one of 11 subspecies of Corvus Macrorhynchos. Some of these subspecies are distinctive vocally, morphologically and...

Many birds are highly social and very intelligent, two traits that might be prerequisites for empathy. Although very little is known about empathy in birds, (read our previous article here) there is some tantalizing evidence that it exists. New research has documented what many bird watchers have known for decades; ravens apparently console their friends after an aggressive conflict with a flockmate.Â To flesh out this...